Today’s issue of WorkCompRecap features the release of a new study from WCRI on the impact of networks on claim outcomes that found that injured workers treated in networks receive care sooner, incur lower costs, and spend less time on temporary disability.

WCRI noted that use of medical provider networks in workers’ comp has grown steadily over the past twenty years, with much of medical care now going through networks. Key areas of exploration for the study included what impact networks had on medical payments, access to care, and utilization of medical services; how networks affect other claim outcomes, such as duration of disability, indemnity benefit payments, and overall claim costs; differences in network effects in rural areas versus urban areas; and how workers’ comp policy choices influence the effectiveness of networks.

Find the WorkCompWire article here.

The new WCRI study is Impact of Networks on Claim Outcomes.  Visit its page on our website for more information, including on how to download a copy!